Live life on Mars? No thanks.

May 14, 2017

The world's becoming a dumping ground

The clothing we wear is like a second skin. It's a way we communicate who we are to the rest of the world. The problem is we live in a consumer culture and we can buy cheap garments to throw away when we get bored. This attitude you might guess, is having great consequences.

According to an article written by James Conca on Forbes online, the apparel industry is guilty of being the second biggest polluter in the world to guess what....the oil industry. A rather eye opening documentary about FAST fashion called True Cost is worth the watch. It highlights the issues we face with a consumerist world.

You might be thinking why discuss this topic? Well, the truth is we are all responsible for the state of our planet. From the gym treadmill to the car you drive, to the food we eat, we all have an impact on the planet. When there are 7 billion of us the accumulative affect has a serious impact.

Being passionate about the great outdoors and lovers of adventure, it becomes alarming to think one day we might not have a clean and diverse planet to explore. It is because of this we need to change.

No-one is perfect (but we can do better)

As anyone in business knows cashflow in key (especially those starting up). Keen to take responsibility we started out being as resourceful as we could using unused stock. Then after visiting the Munich Fabric Fair earlier this year we were excited to find out more about eco fabrics which has kicked started our green adventure. The objective is to create long lasting, stylish and functional environmentally friendly garments. The reality, however, is that its not as simple as it might seem. Eco fabrics that have functionality AND style are not easy to find. The ones available are also not cheap and some wouldn't make for stylish garments.

You will have probably heard about the large functional brands like Patagonia? As a large business they have great environmental responsibility programs and inspiration for brands like ours. They cannot be perfect as production and transport as you might guess has it's impact too.

Quality Vrs Quantity

FAST fashion is recently making the headlines with its impact on our environment. The reason is the short shelf life of the products being bought is creating more of a problem than we might care to acknowledge. Cheap materials and low cost products are now having more affect on poorer parts of the world. These developing countries not only act as dumping grounds for our cheap unused garments some unfortunate workers also bare the brunt of working in factories with hazardous conditions. This is typically due to tight margins driven by corporate companies. The message here is invest in quality products that last years rather than months. You might even save yourself some money in the long run! Remember expensive doesn't always mean good and cheap doesn't always mean poor. Examples of things to look for when buying quality clothing:

T-shirts:

cotton for example will feel smooth. Not rough.

maintains shape

maintains colour/ doesn't fade quickly

sharp looking print

Jacket:

water repellency or waterproof, breathable, wind proof

quality trims - smooth zippers, healthy fur

In general, you will be able to look and feel the difference between good and bad. If the item claims to be breathable for example then you shouldn't feel like you're wearing a bin bag!

The next steps for ASANOX

We are proud to create quality long lasting products using socially responsible manufacturing. We are even more excited about incorporating eco based products into the process too. It goes without saying as a business we must be profitable. With your support and with success we hope to contribute a % of our profits to the right conservation charity. If you have one in mind please share with us. We want our planet to exist so the generations after us can enjoy it too. After all, who really wants to live on Mars?!